"The Ulster Unionist Party last night agreed to form an electoral pact with the Conservatives. The deal will initially see the parties run on a joint ticket in Westminster and European elections in Northern Ireland… The 80-strong gathering of executive members voted in the favour of the deal, which re-establishes historic links between the parties." – Belfast Telegraph

Grant Shapps lambasts the Government for losing one laptop a week

"Figures uncovered by Tory frontbencher Grant Shapps MP show that in the year until the end of last month, Government departments lost a total of 53 lap-tops – a quarter of which belonged to the Department for Health… Mr Shapps told The Daily Telegraph: "Despite losing half the nation’s personal information and being forced to apologise for it exactly a year ago today, it seems that Gordon Brown’s Government remains incapable of keeping our data secure." – Daily Telegraph

ComRes poll of business leaders sends mixed messages over George Osborne and the Tory response to the economic crisis

"The poll of business people found that confidence in Mr Osborne has fallen from 52 per cent to 34 per cent [sine the spring]… although the Tory leadership is still more trusted by business people than the Prime Minister and Chancellor." – Independent

Osborne calls for state to act as bank"George Osborne, shadow chancellor, on Thursday called on the government to consider acting as a bank – offering direct loans to business as a “radical” last resort if banks continue to starve companies of credit." – FT

"The Conservatives are dithering. Instead of being clear about what they would do now, they are making implausible predictions about public spending in 18 months’ time. They say we must cut spending to start paying back debt. This is either trite or economically illiterate." – Nick Clegg writing in the Daily Telegraph

Speculation continues over next Monday’s Pre-Budget Report

"Brown wants to use the budget to muddy any blue water that David Cameron is seeking to create. Many ministers are staggered that the Conservatives are backing a lower rate of spending in 2010-11 than set out in Labour spending plans. They see it as a tactical error by the Tories which gives Darling a green light to announce a similar slower rate of increase in spending for 2010-11." – Guardian

"Alistair Darling is so exasperated by the ‘moral failure’ of banks to help small firms and families that he is poised to toughen the law. The Chancellor is studying legal options to end the ‘unacceptable’ behaviour of the banks towards companies struggling in the downturn." – Daily Mail

The lessons which David Cameron could learn from history

"After an initial rush for safety, voters will peep nervously from the bunker and see the blasted political landscape for what it is, the result of a cruelly mismanaged economy. For that, as in the 1970s, the government of the day will be blamed. That is the reason why the Conservatives should not panic" – Simon Jenkins in the Guardian

Outcry over gag on Baby P report

"Michael Gove, the shadow Children’s Secretary, acknowledged that the Government’s hands were tied, but challenged Mr Balls to change the law. "Does he not agree with me that it is quite wrong to put the interests of a bureaucracy which has failed ahead of proper scrutiny? Is it not wrong that the law as it stands prevents the constituency member from finding out what happened in the case?" – Independent

Andrew Lansley warns that the economic downturn could lead to an increase in mental health problems

"Mental health illness is the forgotten face of this recession. The Government must take decisive action to prevent a financial crisis becoming a mental health catastrophe." – Andrew Lansley quoted on the Channel 4 News website

400 foreign criminals allowed to stay in Britain

"It is outrageous that over two and a half years after the former home secretary lost his job over this fiasco just a third of these offenders have been deported and 90 have not even been found. Not only does this put the public at risk, it shows the government are patently incapable of getting a grip on this longstanding problem." – Dominic Grieve quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Boris Johnson to end London’s hobbit habit with 50,000 new homes

"The Mayor of London began a campaign yesterday for more space in housing schemes, complaining that the capital’s residents were living in cramped conditions akin to the homes of Hobbits." – Times

"Conrad Black, the peer who once owned The Daily Telegraph, has asked for a pardon from President Bush as part of a last ditch attempt to get out of jail early." – Times

Dismal sales and reviews for Gordon Brown’s latest book

"Not everything is rosy for the prime minister. His latest book, Wartime Courage: Stories of Extraordinary Courage by Ordinary People in World War Two, has sold just 193 copies in the fortnight it has been on sale. In the same two weeks, Jordan – Pushed to the Limit, the latest instalment of the glamour model’s autobiography, sold 4,446 copies, despite having been on sale for 10 months." – Guardian

"The Right Honourable Member for Maidenhead clearly has a thing about the look – last October she wore animal-print wellies on the first day of the conference, and disco-danced the following evening in a matching leopard jacket and shoes. You have to admire her confidence, but, even so, the outfit was a reminder that a little leopard goes a long way. Get it wrong, and the effect is more kitsch than chic." – Daily Telegraph

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